


A Bit Mutch

by Jouska_the_Deer (AngstAndAlliums)



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Fluff, M/M, Multi, Polyamorous Character, Polyamory, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2020-03-06 11:02:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18849760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngstAndAlliums/pseuds/Jouska_the_Deer
Summary: Amy sees that Shadow doesn’t have much planned for Valentine’s Day and offers to help him set up romantic decorations to surprise Sonic. Despite personal experience telling him that Sonic isn't into deeply romantic things, Amy seems positive the opposite is true, and Shadow accepts the help.On Valentine’s Day, Sonic spends the afternoon with Amy and the evening with Shadow.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a repost from my Tumblr blog. I decided to make a few grammatical fixes to make reading smoother, but have not altered anything besides that.
> 
> Here's where you can find the work on Tumblr: https://jouska-the-deer.tumblr.com/post/170849127494/a-bit-much-part-1

“Hmm?”

Shadow looked at the entrance of his house after hearing a knock at the door. As much as he didn’t want to leave his comfortable position on the living room couch, he knew he should answer it. With an annoyed grunt, he pulled himself off the couch and answered the door.

“Hi, Shadow!” Amy Rose cheerfully greeted as the door opened.

“Hello?” Shadow greeted back. “Why are you here?”

“To see if you’re doing something for Sonic on Valentine’s Day, silly!”

Shadow raised a brow.

“Couldn’t you have just called to ask me about it?”

Amy’s smile shifted to something more awkward and forced, letting out a nervous chuckle.

“I uh… still don’t have your number and I keep forgetting to ask. That’s another reason why I’m here.”

“Oh.”

Amy stood around silently for a second, speaking up when Shadow showed he wasn’t going to say anything.

“Well, are you going to invite me in, or are you just gonna keep talking to me in the entryway?”

“Uh… come in?”

Shadow took a step back, opening the door more so Amy could enter.

“Thank you.”

Now inside, Amy glanced around at Shadow’s house. “You are planning something for Sonic tomorrow, right?”

“Of course.”

“I was just wondering…”

Her eyes continued to roam over everything. The living room, the kitchen, the hallway. Why she was doing that, Shadow had no idea.

“Is something wrong?”

“No… It’s just…” Amy took a few steps forward, continuing to look around. “…This place isn’t really decorated or anything.”

“Decorated?”

Amy’s focus shifted to Shadow.

“Yeah. Valentine’s Day decorations? You know… balloons, table covers, candles, flowers…”

“I got him a bouquet of roses and daisies.”

“That isn’t it, right?”

“Well, I just bought a movie that just came out for us to watch.”

“Are you talking about, ‘ _Racing Hearts in the Flower Field_ ’?”

“It’s called, ‘ _Laser Space Trucks 3_ ’.”

Amy gasped. “What?! But that’s an action movie!”

Shadow tilted his head. “Yeah…? Sonic liked the first two, and the reviews for this one are pretty good.”

“But it’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow!”

“So?”

With a deep breath, Amy calmed her voice.

“What about dinner? Do you have dinner planned?”

“Of course. I’m making him extra spicy chili dogs that we can eat while watching the movie.”

Immediately, Amy’s stress became apparent again.

“That’s it?!”

“Yes…?”

“That can’t be it! You’ve got the entire evening with him at home and that’s all you have planned?”

“Is that… bad?”

“Of course it is!” Amy shouted. “You should have a super romantic evening planned for him!”

“I thought he’d like something simple. He never seemed very into anything overly romantic…”

“Are you kidding! He loves super romantic stuff!”

For a moment, Shadow stood quietly, rolling Amy’s words around in his head. Despite how much he thought about it, nothing about what she said was connecting with what he’s experienced with Sonic.

“Are you sure?”

“Of course I am! I’ve been dating him the longest, and I would know.”

“You’ve only been dating him for four months longer than me.”

“That’s still four more months of experience, and from experience, he’s always super happy whenever we do super romantic stuff together.”

Once again, Shadow thought about all his previous experiences with Sonic, with nothing of note going against his argument.

“Still. I’ve known him for a long time, and Sonic never seemed fond of very romantic things.”

“I’ve known him for longer than you too. I’ve known him for ten whole years.”

“So have I, basically. I didn’t meet him too long after you did.” Suddenly, a relevant thought crossed his mind. “And it doesn’t matter anyway. He wasn’t interested in dating at all until a couple of years ago.”

With a pout, Amy crossed her arms.

“Well, still. Every time I do something romantic with him, like go on romantic walks or eat at a fancy restaurant, he always has a smile on his face.”

She looked very sure of what she was saying. If Sonic really did have a smile on his face while he and Amy were doing romantic things together, Shadow knew he had to believe her argument. But something just felt off to him. Wouldn’t Sonic have indicated he was into that sort of stuff by now? Shadow looked at Amy, his face full of doubt.

“Are you completely sure about this?”

“I’m one-hundred percent sure! Sonic’s smiles don’t lie, and it’s easy to tell he’s happy whenever we do romantic stuff together.”

Sonic being a sucker for romance didn’t seem right to Shadow, but he didn’t have any proof against it. He knew Sonic was content with hugs, kisses, and sometimes a little cuddling, but nothing seemed to indicate he enjoys really romantic stuff, like what Amy was saying. Could it have been possible that he just assumed Sonic didn’t like that stuff because he didn’t? Or was it possible that Sonic was hiding this information about himself from him? Either way, things weren’t lining up. And Amy was way too confident for any of this to be wrong.

“So, I should be doing more?”

“Well, yeah!” Amy seemed to be a little excited now. “If you want, I could help you to totally spice this place up with the best decorations possible!”

Even with everything not lining up in his head, Shadow knew he wanted to make Sonic happy, and Amy seemed to know what she was talking about.

“Alright,” he reluctantly replied.

“Sweet!” Amy squeed. “Let’s go to the store and get everything we need!” She trotted out the front door, stopping abruptly after realizing Shadow wasn’t behind her. “Well, come on! We’ve got a lot of stuff to do and only a few hours to do it!”

Shadow proceeded out the front door, locking it behind him. Then, he followed Amy to wherever she was taking him.

* * *

“And that should do it!”

Amy stepped away from the kitchen table that she just finished decorating, moving to the center of the house to get a better view of her and Shadow’s work.

“Perfect.”

Amy grinned with pride as she viewed the decorations, while Shadow continued to have doubts about everything. He walked over to her.

“Are you sure this isn’t too much?”  

“Definitely. Sonic loves romance, so the more the better.” She turned to Shadow, getting his attention.

“Okay. So, just before Sonic gets here, make sure to start cooking the pasta so it’s nice and hot by the time he arrives.”

“I haven’t made pasta before…”

“Just follow the directions I gave you. It’s pretty easy.”

“Okay, I guess.”

“Get the candles lit before he comes here too.”

“Mmm hmm.”

“And since all the romance movies were sold out, just make sure to find one on TV for you guys to watch after dinner.”

“I will.”

“Good. Also, make Sonic a poem and read it to him when he arrives. It’s super romantic.”

Shadow nodded.

After taking a moment to think everything over, Amy found that she had said everything she thought she needed to.

“Well, I think that’s everything!” She stepped over to the plastic bag of leftover decorations she bought, picking it up and heading for the door. “I hope you and Sonic have a great time! See you later!”

“Goodbye.”

With a wave, she walked out the door and happily trotted away.


	2. Chapter 2

With a delighted squee, Amy ran up to her door, answering the knock she just heard. She swung the door open, revealing Sonic standing on the other side.

Before any conversation was made, Sonic got a look at Amy’s outfit for the day. She wore a long frilly red dress with matching high heels, a red headband similar to her usual one only this one was decorated with fake roses, and long white gloves instead of her usual short ones.

“Woah. You look really good.”

“Thank you!”

Sonic blushed, handing her a bouquet of handpicked flowers and a heart-shaped box of chocolates.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Amy.”

“Thank you so much! And, Happy Valentine’s Day to you too, Sonic.”

They leaned down, sharing a brief kiss before Amy stepped back into her house.

“One moment. I have to put these down and grab something.”

“No problem.”

With that, Amy rushed into her house, arriving back in seconds. She expectantly held a card out for Sonic to grab, her heart racing as he took it from her.

“I made it myself- well, I bought a blank card and decorated it- but still. I hope you love it!”

Just glancing at the card showed the time and effort that went into making it look beautiful. The most noticeable thing on the front was the huge red heart in the center, with golden colored cursive spelling out “Happy Valentine’s Day, Sonic”. Looking a little closer revealed all the small details in the background, including a bunch of little hearts and roses drawn in patterns that made up larger hearts. Intricate patterns of even more hearts made up the edges of the card, giving it an almost professional feel.

As Sonic opened the card, he noticed that the pattern of hearts around the border of the card were the same on the inside. There wasn’t a bunch of hearts and roses drawn in the background though. Instead, there was a neatly written poem spanning both sides of the card interior. Sonic began to read it, knowing that Amy definitely worked hard on it and wanted him to.

 

_Thank you for the unending love_

_You make me feel each day_

_Even if you’re not next to me_

_I feel it anyway_

_The past was often filled with me_

_Trying to be your bride_

_You never could evade my hugs_

_No matter how you tried  
_

_Today I know it was unkind_

_To stick to you like glue_

_But after decent time and space_

_You let me close to you  
_

_And then before I knew_

_You came to love me too_

 

Sonic couldn’t help but blush bright red as he read the poem. He was only halfway through it, and he could already feel his heart pounding.

 

_Thank you for all the time you spent_

_Making my life so fun_

_The adventures you’ve given me_

_Beat any vacation_

_There were some days I doubted that_

_You’d come back in one piece_

_As time passed and we got closer_

_Those worries didn’t cease._

_But here you are still by my side_

_Despite all that you fight_

_Smiling the way you always do_

_Ridding me of most fright_

_Each day and every night_

_Keeping my spirits bright_

_Helping me feel alright_

 

When Sonic looked up from the card, he noticed Amy blushing as well. She was looking away bashfully, but once she glanced at Sonic and saw he was done reading, she gave him a hopeful smile.

“Do you… like it?”

Sonic returned the smile.

“I loved it.” He stepped forward, wrapping his arms around Amy and pulling her into a hug. “And, I love you.”

Amy hugged him back, sighing happily. “I love you too.”

They held each other for a brief moment, enjoying the contact a few more seconds before stepping back.

Sonic glanced down at the poem in his hand again.

“This is even better than the one you wrote last year.”

“I hoped so. I’ve been practicing so that the poems I give you are even better.”

“I can tell.”

“Thank you.”

For a second, Amy giggled happily at the compliment, before jumping at something she was forgetting about.

“Wait! I’ve got stuff for us to do today!” Immediately, Amy grabbed Sonic’s free can and began pulling him somewhere. “Come on!”

Sonic chuckled, putting the card safely into his hammerspace.

“I’ve got a better idea.” With one quick movement, Sonic scooped Amy into his arms and held her bridal style. “Just tell me where to go and we’ll get there in no time.”

Blushing deeply, it took Amy a moment before she could reply.

“O-Okay.”

* * *

“This is it. Just stop over there.”

Sonic slowed to a halt in front of a pleasant little cafe that appeared well decorated for the holiday. Valentine’s Day balloons were tied to the outdoor tables and chairs, and each table had a bouquet of fake roses in the center. Carefully, Sonic set Amy down.

“This place looks pretty nice,” Sonic commented.

“Yep! Perfect for a romantic date with the person you love~”

Once again, Sonic couldn’t help but blush, scratching his quills as Amy lead him forward. Quickly, Sonic jogged in front of her, holding the door open.

“Aww. Thank you.”

“No problem, Amy.”

It wasn’t long before they were seated at a table for two near the front windows, with each of them ordering a drink before their waiter walked off to help the other customers.

The meals they each had were well presented and tasted nice, well worth the small amount of time they had to wait for their food to be finished. While they were eating, Sonic couldn’t help but notice how Amy kept looking at him dreamily, but he didn’t appear to mind. He continued to eat his food happily while Amy did the same.

Wit their meals now finished, Amy nervously looked at Sonic.

“Hey, Sonic?”

“Yeah?”

She looked away, her cheeks turning bright red.

“Um, would you like to…” After a few breaths, she forced herself to look at him. “…Share a milkshake with me?”

Sonic blushed just as hard, clearing his throat as his heart raced.

“Well, uh, okay- I mean, sure- I mean, I’d be cool with it. Uh, yeah.”

Amy squeed loudly in excitement before covering her mouth, letting out a more contained giggle of joy after. Sonic smiled as Amy grabbed the dessert menu.

When the milkshake was finally delivered to the table, it was about what Sonic was expecting when he heard Amy order the “Endless Love, Valentine’s Day Milkshake Special.” It was definitely a strawberry flavored shake, and he could see chocolate stripes running down the sides of the glass it came in. The milkshake was topped with plenty of whipped cream, and covered in tiny heart-shaped sprinkles. Two straws were sticking out of the top, one facing Sonic and the other facing Amy.

Amy leaned in to sip the milkshake, giving Sonic a look that told him she really wanted him to do so as well. He too leaned forward, taking a sip of the shake as she did.

For a brief moment, Sonic thought about how good the milkshake actually tasted, before his nose bumped into Amy’s and he was pulled out of his thoughts. They both blushed. Amy backed up and looked away while Sonic sat up rigidly in his chair. Sonic then noticed Amy starting to giggle, facing him after a moment.

“I love you.”

Sonic relaxed a little bit, giving Amy a smile.

“I love you too.”

A short moment later, they both went back to sipping the milkshake together. Their noses touched for a second time, but only Amy backed away that time. She smiled bashfully with her lips hovering near the staw, her eyes drifting away. Her attention was caught when Sonic leaned forward more, purposely bumping his nose against hers. Amy couldn’t help but giggle, nuzzling her nose against Sonic’s. Shortly after, he nuzzled back, causing Amy to feel even happier. They continued to share their milkshake.

* * *

Sonic set Amy down again, looking up at the building she led him to.

“A movie theater, huh? So, what’re we seeing?”

Both he and Amy began walking in.

“ _The Violet Nightgown_. It’s a captivating love story about an adventurous pilot who crash lands in a small farm town after getting caught in a dangerous storm. As she repairs her plane, she falls in love with a beautiful farmer who warns her of a curse on the town. Everyone who stays there for more than a week is forced to stay there forever. As her days there get closer to seven, she’s forced to choose between staying with the woman she’s grown to love, or flying away and continuing her life of adventure.”

Sonic smirked. “It sounds like you’re quoting the trailer or something.”

They both stopped at the ticket counter.

“That’s because I am.” Amy then turned to the person behind the counter. “Two for  _The Violet Nightgown_ , please.”

Once they got their tickets, food, and beverages, they walked into the theatre and found a good place to sit. It was a good thing that they managed to arrive pretty early because it wasn’t long before many other couples walked into the theater as well. After sitting through a seemingly endless barrage of commercials and trailers, the movie finally started.

Not too long into watching the movie, Sonic noticed that he kinda related to the protagonist, a thin white snowshoe hare named Cirrus. She was cool, adventurous, and loved flying around in her plane. It didn’t have a cool name like ‘The Tornado’ or anything, but that didn’t really matter too much. He watched the opening shot of her flying through the air enjoying the wind, until a weird storm starts and a bolt of lightning hits her plane, causing it to crash into a farm town. A little bit later, a strong yellow silkie chicken helps her out of the wreckage, introducing herself as Fennel and asking Cirrus if she was alright. The look they gave each other made it very obvious that they were already falling in love, and Sonic reacted by awkwardly looking away from the cheesy moment of them staring into each other’s eyes. He glanced at Amy, who seemed to be eating the moment up. Slowly, Sonic turned his attention back to the screen.

A bit further into the movie, Cirrus was walking around outside at night, despite the warnings that Fennel gave to her earlier. She was investigating some weird noises she heard and saw a bunch of ghosts roaming around the town. Cirrus then noticed one ghost that looked a little different from the others. Instead of a mostly featureless ghost, it was clearly the ghost of a middle-aged mouse woman who wore a violet nightgown. Sonic figured she must be important to the story if what she was wearing was the title of the movie. The ghost ended up chasing after Cirrus, but she managed to escape and run into Fennel’s house where she was staying. This led Fennel romantically comforting Cirrus, which made Sonic awkwardly look away again. Amy still appeared to be enjoying the movie though, which made Sonic smile.

An idea then popped into his head. Slowly, he wrapped his arm around Amy’s shoulders, briefly getting her attention. Despite the low light, Sonic could tell Amy was blushing, but the smile she wore showed him how happy she was about the situation. She leaned against him, letting out a sigh of content as they continued to watch the movie.

Sonic could feel the end of the movie getting closer. Cirrus and Fennel were speaking to an old townsperson, who was telling the story about the woman in the violet nightgown. It turns out that her name was Alison, and she lived in the town before the curse was cast. She was childhood friends with the mayor’s son, a red rooster named Rhubarb, until he left the town in his adulthood to follow his dreams. Alison would have followed Rhubarb, but she had children she had to take care of in the town. Many years later after her children grew up, he came back to spend some time with his father, also spending time with Alison again. At the end of the week though, Alison learned he’d only be there a week and chased after him on the last day at night still in her nightgown. She was too late and he was already way out of town. The old townsperson then said that everyone suspects she cursed the town, because, after that, she screamed about not letting anyone else leave and locked herself in her basement, never to be seen alive again. After hearing that, Fennel informed Cirrus that she knows where Alison’s old house is, and Cirrus says they should check it out. It was very obvious that Sonic was more invested, as he was listening more carefully to what was going on.

A catchy pop song played as the credits rolled, prompting everyone to get out of their seats. As Amy and Sonic walked out of the theater, Amy started a conversation.

“So, what did you think?”

“I thought it was pretty good. How about you?”

“I loved it! You could really feel how much Cirrus and Fennel loved each other throughout the entire movie!”

“Uh… yeah…”

“What was your favorite part?”

Sonic took a brief second to think about it.

“Probably the part where Fennel breaks down the basement door to get to Alison.”

“Really? I think my favorite part was when Cirrus took Fennel on the plane ride out of town at the end. It was so romantic!”

Sonic and Amy threw their empty drinks and food containers in the trash and stepped out of the theater. They both stopped just outside the theater out of the way of the entry doors. An idea came to Sonic as he thought about what Amy said.

“Hmm… How would you like it if I took you for a ride in the Tornado?” Sonic looked off into the distance while thinking out loud. “It’s at Tails’ place right now so we’d have to pick it up, and we wouldn’t have too much time in the air before I’d have to land and bring you home so I can go off to Shadow’s… Uh…”

He glanced back at Amy, her eyes shimmering with excitement and smile one of the brightest he’s ever seen. “So… is that a ‘yes’?”

Amy let out a squeal of delight and rushed toward Sonic, hugging him tightly. Sonic hugged her back with a smile, letting out a small chuckle.

“Alright.” For the third time that day, Sonic scooped her up in his arms. “Let’s go!” He rushed forward, hearing Amy giggle helplessly as he went to pick up the Tornado.

* * *

“So how’s this for a romantic Valentine’s Day experience?”

Amy giggled, leaning forward from her seat in the back of the Tornado and giving Sonic a kiss on the cheek.

“It’s perfect.”

“Sweet!”

Sitting back down properly, Amy enjoyed the feeling of the wind blowing through her quills, as did Sonic. He looked around, enjoying the sea of green below him and the sound of air rushing by. He sighed contently, quietly saying to himself, “this is more like it.”

“What?” Amy sounded concerned.

“Huh?”

Sonic jumped, trying to keep his composure in the pilot’s seat.

“What did you say?”

“N-Nothing!” Sonic was already terrible at lying, but the thought of making Amy upset at that moment didn’t help.

“It sounded like-”

“It doesn’t matter! Alright?” he interrupted desperately. “Just uh, keep having fun up here.”

“Sonic…”

He let out a whine, knowing that he wasn’t getting out of this.

“It sounded like you said, ‘this is more like it.’ Did you?”

Sonic sighed. “Uh, yeah…”

“So… you didn’t enjoy everything we did today?” There was a clear amount of sadness in her voice.

“No! No. It’s just…” Sonic ears folded back as he hunched down a little in his seat. “I’m just… not really into super romantic stuff…”

“Oh… I just thought that, you know, since you looked all happy while we did romantic stuff together in the past, that you liked it.”

“Well, I like kissing and holding hands and stuff like that, but… romantic movies, poems, and meals… just aren’t really my thing.”

“Oh…”

“Hey uh, I still had fun today. Don’t think that I didn’t.”

“But… how could you? You said you didn’t like that stuff?”

“Well, I don’t really. But, seeing you enjoy yourself, it makes me really happy.”

“Still, you really should’ve told me sooner. I wouldn’t have dragged you into everything if I knew you wouldn’t really like it.”

“Hey, I did like some of it. The poem was sweet, and the food tasted good, and the movie was pretty cool… when it wasn’t being cheesy. I’m glad we did all that stuff. I still had fun, even if I wouldn’t normally like that kind of stuff. I’m sorry for not telling you sooner, though.”

“It’s okay.”

“Let’s just enjoy the rest of the time we have together, alright?”

“Yeah.”

* * *

“Thanks for all the fun today, Amy.”

“It was my pleasure, Sonic. And, thank you for the plane ride.”

“No problem.”

Sonic stood with Amy in the entryway to her house, holding hands with her as they smiled together. Gently, Sonic reached to Amy’s waist as she reached to his back, drawing each other closer until only a small gap was between them. Their eyes drifted shut, slowly leaning forward and closing the gap, letting their lips connect in a soft kiss. Sonic released a soft breath through his nose, melting against Amy’s loving touch and pulling her closer. After their lips parted, they continued to hold each other in a calm embrace, enjoying the last few moments they had together that day.

“You know,” Amy spoke softly, “I wouldn’t mind doing stuff like this next Valentine’s Day.” She sighed contently. “It may not be a huge celebration, but, it’s still really nice.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah.”

They gave each other a gentle squeeze before letting go, smiling as their eyes met again.

“See you later.”

“Bye, Sonic.”

With that, Sonic gave Amy one last kiss and ran off to Shadow’s house.

Amy closed the door slowly, hearing it click shut. As she turned around and began walking toward her living room, a weird feeling kept gnawing at her, like she was forgetting something important. She sat down on her couch, trying to figure out what was wrong. The realization hit her like a truck.

“Shadow!”

She immediately got up, pacing around her house in a panic.

“I made him do a bunch of super romantic stuff for Sonic, and neither of them are going to enjoy any of it!”

She quickly pulled out her phone, planning to call Shadow before Sonic got there and rectify the situation. As she got to the contacts page, she remembered something else.

“I FORGOT TO ASK FOR HIS NUMBER AGAIN!"


	3. Chapter 3

Sonic stepped up to Shadow’s front door, knocking a few times before letting himself in like he always does.

“Hey Sha-”

His voice got caught in his throat as he stepped inside. This… was not what he was expecting.

Pink, white, and red streamers were hung neatly across the walls, along with paper heart garlands of matching colors. Various balloons of the same theme were tethered to any anchor points available, some heart shaped and others plain. A lovely red cloth covered the previously bare kitchen table, with white and pink hearts generously being displayed on the fabric. In the center of the table stood a bouquet of red roses in a slender glass vase. Around the flowers were many small candles, which filled the room with a sweet scent. There were candles in other places in the house as well, most notably on the living room coffee table, which was covered with a red cloth similar to the one in the kitchen. If all that wasn’t enough to convey a Valentine’s Day theme, the honeycomb tissue paper hearts hanging from the ceiling in multiple places around the house definitely helped.

“-dow?”

Sonic looked straight ahead, where Shadow was standing with a piece of paper in his hand.

“Uh…”

Shadow’s cheeks were burning red, his posture stiff, with his elbows close to his torso and legs pulled together. It was such a departure from his usual confident stance that Sonic couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable seeing it.

Shadow then cleared his throat awkwardly, looking down at the paper in his hand.

 

_“You are like the wind because you don’t stay still at all._

_Except when you lean against a wall_

_And when you curl into a ball_

_To spindash people, like when we used to brawl._

_But now I think you’re cool overall.”_

 

Even though Sonic had a clue about what was going on as soon as he walked in, the poem solidified his theory. He let out a chuckle, walking over to Shadow and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“All this was Amy’s idea, wasn’t it?”

Shadow looked all around at the cute pink, red, and white heart decorations across his house, then back to Sonic.

“Uh… No…?”

Suddenly, a piece of tape holding up a few steamers unstuck from the wall, causing the decorations to fall to the floor. Shadow’s ears went back.

“Maybe…”

Sonic chuckled again, but a little more softly this time. He leaned forward, pressing his lips to Shadow’s and placing his hands on his waist. Slowly, Shadow’s eyes drifted shut, his posture becoming looser as the contact calmed his nerves. A second later, Shadow let the piece of paper fall to the floor, allowing him to wrap his arms around Sonic. When the kiss ended, Sonic continued to hold Shadow’s waist.

“Why’d you go along with everything?”

“Because Amy said you liked this kind of stuff.” Shadow lowered his head. “I’m assuming you actually don’t…”

“Yeah…”

After a brief pause, Shadow continued.

“She… really made it sound like you did. She said that you were happy when you did romantic stuff with her.”

“I was happy because she was. I know this kind of stuff isn’t your thing, and it’s not mine either.”

“I’m sorry for doing all this, then. I was convinced that what I had planned wasn’t special enough for Valentine’s Day.”

Sonic tilted his head with curiosity.

“What did you have planned?”

With a hint of blush dusting his cheeks, Shadow looked away.

“I… got you a flower bouquet. And, I bought  _Laser Space Trucks 3_  so we could watch it together. I also planned on making spicy chili dogs to eat while watching the movie.”

Sonic placed his hand on the side of Shadow’s head, gently pushing it to have him face him again.

“Shadow, that stuff sounds awesome.”

“Really?” Shadow took a second to think to himself. “Hmm… In that case…” He then took a couple of steps away, pulling a bouquet of roses and daisies out of his hammerspace and presenting them to Sonic. “Here.”

Sonic smiled as he accepted the bouquet, giving it a sniff once it was in his hands.

“Amy said the bouquet was the best idea I had already, so I was going to give it to you anyway.”

“Thanks, Shadow.”

After a calm smile, Shadow began to awkwardly scratch his head.

“Uh, I could get started on making the chili dogs I had planned. Amy gave me a pasta recipe, but we don’t have a noodle maker… or a strainer… or flour. I checked the supermarket, but they don’t have any noodle makers, and I didn’t have enough time to cut them by hand before you got here.”

“Chili dogs sound way better.”

“It will take a while for the chili to cook.”

“That’s alright. I can just hang out with you until it’s done.”

Another smile was seen on Shadow’s face. He walked forward and pulled Sonic into a hug. Sonic happily hugged back.

“Love you, Shadow.”

“I love you too.”

They both released each other, then Shadow began walking to the kitchen. Sonic looked down at the floor to the poem Shadow made him, picking it up and glancing it over. It was obvious that Shadow didn’t really know what he was doing while writing, but Sonic could still see the effort put into it. He put it into his hammerspace, then began walking into the kitchen as well.

Before he could take more than two steps forward, he heard his communicator go off, meaning someone was trying to call him. He saw that it was Amy, and tapped to answer.

“Sonic! Don’t go over to Shadow’s place yet!”

“Woah, Amy! Calm down a bit, will ya?”

“I’m serious! Also, on a completely different note, could you give me his number?”

“Amy, I’m already at Shadow’s place.”

There was a long pause.

“Oh…”

It was silent again for a short while. Amy continued.

“Sonic, I’m really sorry. I just, I really thought-”

“It’s fine, Amy,” Sonic assured. “You didn’t know about it until not too long ago.”

There was another pause.

“Could you maybe, tell Shadow I’m sorry? I didn’t mean to ruin your guys’ evening.”

“Nothing’s ruined, Amy. We’re doing what he had planned.”

“Um, okay. But, could you still apologize to him for me?”

“I will.”

“Thank you. I’ll hang up now. I don’t want to take up any more of your time.”

“Alright.”

“Okay, well, bye Sonic.”

“Bye, Amy.”

The call ended, and Sonic continued toward the kitchen.

When Sonic walked in, he could see Shadow sauteing some onions in a pan, so he made sure to give him some space to work.

“Hey Shads, Amy says sorry for making you set up all this stuff.”

Shadow continued to work. Not saying a word.

“Shadow?”

He sighed.

“…Why did she?”

“She really thought I would like everything. I didn’t tell her I wasn’t into super romantic stuff until today.”

Shadow lifted the pan off the stove, using his spatula to scrape the browned onions into the slow cooker he had sitting off to the side. He then set the pan down and put in some meat, browning it for a moment. After a bit more silence, he glanced back at Sonic, then returned his focus to the pan.

“Let her know I forgive her next time you both talk.”

“Alright.”

With a sniff, Sonic noticed that the kitchen was beginning to smell delicious.

“Woah, everything smells good already.”

“It’s just browned onions and meat.”

“I know.”

For a moment, Sonic stood around and simply watched Shadow work.

“Need any help?”

“You can dice some tomatoes if you really want to.”

“Cool.”

Sonic stepped up to the counter beside Shadow, getting out a cutting knife and beginning to work along with him.

* * *

With everything now in the pot and cooking, Shadow and Sonic walked over to the couch to rest and wait for the chili to be finished. As they got settled in, Sonic remembered something.

“Oh! I almost forgot that I got you some stuff.” Sonic pulled a fancy bag of chocolate truffles out of his hammerspace, handing it to Shadow. “These are the ones you like, right?”

Shadow looked over the bag. “Yeah.”

“Sweet! And I also got you this.” Sonic handed Shadow a video game with pictures of characters battling each other on the front cover. “I know it’s not really a traditional Valentine’s Day gift, but I figured that since it came out recently, I’d give it to you now instead of waiting until Christmas or something. Plus, I’m sure you would’ve bought it yourself by then.”

Shadow smiled.

“Thank you.”

“No problem, Shads.”

Leaning forward, Sonic planted a small kiss on Shadow’s cheek, making him smile a little more.

“Do you want to watch TV?”

“Sure.”

After taking a few moments to find the least boring show currently on, Shadow set down the remote and sat back while holding the chocolates Sonic gave him. He put the bag in his lap, then pulled out an individually wrapped chocolate truffle. A moment of peeling the wrapper off later, Shadow enjoyed the sweet chocolatey experience. He then reached into the bag, grabbing another truffle and holding it out to Sonic.

“No thanks. I bought those for you.”

Pushing his hand out a little further, Shadow made it very clear he wanted to share. Sonic rolled his eyes with a smile, accepting the chocolate.

“Alright.” He unwrapped it and took a bite, enjoying the flavor as well. “Thanks,” he said with his mouth half full. Shadow just nodded and set his wrapper on the coffee table, with Sonic doing the same.

While watching TV together, Sonic felt Shadow gently grab hold of his hand, making Sonic smile a bit. A second later, Sonic was leaning against Shadow, resting his head on him and sighing with content. Shadow sighed contently as well, enjoying the moment together with Sonic as they watched TV.

A little sooner than Sonic expected, Shadow got out of his spot on the couch and began walking to the kitchen.

“Huh? Is the chili done already?”

“No, but if I’m going to have time to cook the hot dogs before the chili is done I have to get the grill started now.”

“Grill, huh?” Sonic got out of his spot as well, taking a few steps toward Shadow and stopping with only a tiny amount of space between them. “You’re really going all out, huh?”

“Of course.“

They leaned in, sharing a kiss before Shadow walked away to retrieve the supplies he needed from the kitchen. Sonic looked at him, then back to the TV, then back to Shadow, then he turned off the TV and followed Shadow as he began heading out the back door.

“Are you really going to watch me cook?” he asked while setting the supplies on a cheap fold-up table he had next to the grill.

“Would it bother you?”

“No. Just figured you’d die of boredom.”

“Aww, how considerate of you~”

Shadow rolled his eyes with a smirk.

“But seriously,” Sonic continued, “watching you cook is way more interesting than anything on TV, at least until you pop in the movie you just got.”

“Well, if you’re going to just stand there, you mind holding the plate for me once the hot dogs are done?”

“Not at all, Shadow.”

* * *

Shadow opened the back door for Sonic who carefully carried in the plate of freshly grilled hot dogs. While Sonic placed the plate of hot dogs on the counter, Shadow put all the grilling supplies in their correct places. As soon as Shadow put everything away, he opened the lid of the slow cooker to check on the chili, causing a wave of delicious smelling air to waft through the kitchen.

“Woah! Now that smells like good chili!”

“It’ll taste even better than it smells.”

“That’s a pretty big claim you’ve got there.”

After pulling out a wooden spoon, Shadow dipped it into the chili and brought it to his mouth, giving it a taste.

“I was correct.”

“Really?” Sonic said with excitement, stepping closer. “Let me try!”

Shadow held the end of the spoon out to Sonic, watching as he leaned forward and took a small taste.

“Holy- wow! That’s got a kick to it! Great job, Shadow!”

The smug grin Shadow had made Sonic rolls his eyes.

“Okay. How about instead of standing there all proud, you start plating everything up?”

With a half chuckle, Shadow set the spoon into the slow cooker, turned it off, and started opening a bag of hot dog buns.

Once the chili dogs were neatly set up on a couple of plates, Sonic and Shadow walked into the living room to sit down and eat. Sonic sat down on the couch immediately, but Shadow just set his plate down and began to put in the new movie he bought.

While Shadow was setting the disc into the tray, he glanced over at Sonic. He was just sitting there… staring at his chili dogs like they were the most beautiful things he’s ever seen.

“What are you waiting for?”

“I dunno. Until you put in the movie or something.”

“Just eat already. You’re going to drool all over the floor if you keep staring like that.”

“Whatever, Shads.”

The movie slid into the video player and Shadow walked over to the couch, sitting down right next to Sonic who had picked up one of his chili dogs. When Sonic took a bite, his eyes lit up with delight.

“MMMMMMMMMMMmmmm!” It was hard to keep his mouth closed with how much he wanted to smile. When he finally swallowed the bite, he turned to Shadow with an astonished expression. “Have I ever said that I love you?” Sonic said dramatically. “Because I love you. I love you so much.”

Shadow chuckled. “If only Amy knew years ago that the way to your heart was chili dogs.”

Sonic chuckled as well, looking back on a few of his memories. “She did. You think she didn’t try to impress me with chili dogs at some point?”

“And, she didn’t make any as good as these?”

Sonic scratched his head with his free hand.

“Well, no. Not really. Her chili had too many vegetables, and it was never spicy enough too.”

Shadow showed another smug smile.

“Jeez. Today’s just been a great day for boosting your ego, huh?”

“You’re one to talk.”

“Whatever. Just quit it with that look on your face. It’s not like chili dogs were the deciding factor of why I wanted to date you and Amy.”

Sonic enjoyed another bite of his chili dog while Shadow picked up the TV remote with an eye roll. There was a brief pause as Shadow looked at the film’s main menu, pressing the mute button and setting the remote down instead of pressing play.

“What was?” he asked as he turned to Sonic, causing him to pause before taking another bite.

“There wasn’t really a single thing. I had a bunch of reasons for both of you.” Sonic took another bite, enjoying it greatly.

“Like what?”

“Why do you care so much?” Sonic asked with his mouth full, swallowing the food to finish his thought. “Just trying to get me to compliment you some more?”

“No. I’m just… curious.”

Since Shadow did appear to be serious, Sonic set the remainder of the chili dog down and turned his attention completely to him.

“You’re kinda putting me on the spot here, but… I dunno. I just liked how chill you were, when you weren’t trying to destroy stuff, that is. The fact you weren’t super lovey-dovey helped me like you more too.”

“That doesn’t make much sense…”

Sonic shrugged. “It does to me.”

Taking a moment to really think about it, Sonic remembered one of the larger reasons why he started getting closer to Shadow in the first place. He looked away solemnly.

“I uh, also just… I liked how you understood what it was like… to have to deal with a lot of bad things all the time. And it was nice, that I could just… hang around you, without you pressing me to talk about my feelings or anything…”

“Oh…”

The room became quiet.

Sonic then felt a hand on his shoulder, making him look over to Shadow, who offered a hopeful smile. He smiled back, sighing happily.

“I… think that’s another thing that helped me love you more. Just, all the small things you do to show that you care.”

Shadow looked at him quizzically.

“That… seems like the opposite of how Amy is…”

“I know.”

Chuckling softly, Sonic leaned back on the couch, while Shadow continued to sit straight up and listen to him.

“She can be a little hard to handle sometimes, with how much she does to show her love, but… I also kinda like that about her. She puts so much effort into everything she does, and always tries her best to make me happy. Even if it’s a bit overwhelming, seeing how excited she is makes it hard not to feel excited too. It’s just fun to be around her.”

Shadow let out a hum of fascination, continuing to listen intently.

Sonic rubbed his arm bashfully while his cheeks became increasingly red.

“She’s uh, also pretty good at cheering me up when I’m feeling down. I don’t like talking about my feelings very much, but she always knows what to say to make me feel better.”

Looking away in embarrassment, Sonic just waited for Shadow to simply play the movie since he gave him the explanation he wanted. Instead of that, though, he tapped Sonic on the shoulder to get his attention again.

“Yeah, Shadow?”

“You should tell Amy about why you love her when you next see each other. It would make her really happy.”

“A-Alright.” Sonic scratched his head. “Uh… could you… play the movie now? Before this gets too awkward for me?”

“Okay.”

Once the TV was unmuted, Shadow pressed play and grabbed a chili dog, enjoying a bite as he leaned back on the couch. Sonic grabbed the already half eaten chili dog on his plate, sitting back on the couch as well, but making sure to also be comfortably scooched up next to Shadow. As the opening credits began to play, Sonic and Shadow looked at each other with a smile, sharing another kiss before watching the movie together.


End file.
